#first year reflection

So you’ve probably heard it from all of your teachers in high school, I know I did. 

“They’re not going to be this ___ in college” the blank usually being something along the lines of “on your ass/ lenient/ understanding/tolerant/etc”. So I’m here to approve/disprove some common ideas passed on and maybe ease your mind. Or make you more worried, however you want to see it. 

Keep in mind these are from a public university student’s POV so I can’t speak for everyone.  

1) “It’s going to be tougher in college” 

Well yes and no. That’s how schooling works, every year you move up the material gets harder so that you can advance in your knowledge. It’d be kind of useless if we just kept learning the same level of material year after year. However, I think what they meant to say was that it got exponentially harder in college and I don’t think this is the case, especially not for the first year. 

2) “These people earned their degrees so they’re going to demand respect and you’ll have to call them Dr./Mrs./Mr/ whatever” 

Not true, some of my best professors went by their first name. One actually would forget to respond if you called him “professor” because he always went by his first name. Being on a first-name basis is usually something the professor covers in the first class so if they tell you which to call them great! Call them that. If they don’t, maybe ask or stick with “professor” until it’s made clear. 

3) “No one’s going to hold your hand/No one’s going to remind you./They’ll just refer you to the syllabus”

Wrong, at least for the first year. The syllabus is a thing that most professors use and it would do you well to print them out and look at it from time to time so you aren’t completely lost. That being said, all of my professors did help us out in some way, some more than others. My maths profs would send out emails telling us the hw every week and, a week before finals, sent out emails every other day reminding us about the final’s time/location, English prof would remind us a week in advance and have in-class workshops before papers were due. Our criminal justice AI (Assistant Instructor) wrote up and gave us the rubric she’d be using to grade our book reviews. 

When teaching lower-level classes, professors know they’re going to be teaching mostly first-years and understand it does no good to just throw you in the fire. 

4) “You’ll have to learn to be responsible”

100%. This is very vague but it is true, not only in academics but in your personal life too. Time management is the biggest factor. College is a lot less condensed than high-school meaning more free time. Even when I took 17.5 credit hours I still had plenty of time on my hands. The challenge is how to handle that time. It’s going to be so tempting to go to forget about the assignments because it’s not due every day or the paper is due next month. Use your first year to learn about your study habits and what works best for you to learn the material. And I don’t recommend doing all your hw the day before, even if you can. While it is important to get your work done it’s also important that you aren’t falling apart at the seams from stress. Be responsible for yourself. 

5) “They won’t stand tardiness, the doors will be locked and sucks to suck”

Depends on the professor but usually not. I’ve seen people walk out of class 20 min early, I’ve been 10 min late for class a couple of times. Went to office hours got notes I missed. Most profs don’t mind as long as you aren’t disrupting the class. I’ve even seen a kid run into an exam 30 min late, poor kid overslept. I have had the occasional stickler for being on time but after a while its shown not to be worth policing students like that.

Don’t make a habit of it though. They get it, life happens, people oversleep, busses are late, and what have you. But understand that there are some things that punctuality is vital, meetings with a professor,  exams (unless you think you can do the exam in half the time, you’re paying for it), interviews, labs (you usually need all the time you can get with those).

Edit: 6) “Don’t take an 8am you’ll hate yourself”

I’ve heard this more from advice online but I’m still going to put it here anyway. 8ams aren’t that bad. When you wake up in hs for an 8am you’re also waking up to do nothing but sit and listen for the next 8 hours nonstop. This is extremely different than waking up for an hour maybe two hours worth of sitting in a lecture at a time and more later. I had somewhere to be by 8am every day of the week and it's honestly something you get used to. Any starting class time is early if your sleep schedule’s fucked. My advice? Adjust and regulate your sleep schedule. Find out how much sleep you need to be a useful, productive,  decent human being and count backward.

7) “All the classes are so big/the professors won’t know you”

True but it depends. I’ve had both large (150+) and small classes (20 ish) and it is entirely possible the professor will not know you in either situation. 

With professors knowing you, that is usually up to you. I ask a lot of questions both in and out of class. I can guarantee that if you go to office hours consistently they will eventually learn your face. I ended up going to almost every one of my calc 1 profs office hours (meaning I saw him around an hour a day 4 days a week). Emailed him a thank you at the end of the semester and he actually referenced back to a small conversation we had towards the beginning of the year. So if you want the prof to notice you, ask every question you have, even if its a clarification question. if you have too many write them down and go to office hours. 

Feel free to add your own experience or ask about a rumor you’ve heard! Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat.

All the best,

It’s easy to get so lost in the amazing idea of going away to university that you forget you don’t know how to do basic things. So I’m writing this as a checklist-ish type for things I saw were common problems. 

1) Laundry.

There were so many people who didn’t know how to do laundry it’s unreal. Ask your nearest adult that knows how to do laundry and give it a watch over. Learn general terminology, detergent, fabric softener, air dry, what have you and get used to knowing which of your clothes can go in the washer/dryer without shortening its life. 

2) Sewing.

Have a small sewing kit and learn how to hand sew a couple of things. 

Buttons 

Seams

Pockets 

Hems for pants (especially if you’re shorter)

3) How to read a bus map and learn the routes you need.

4) Read a clock.

Sounds basic but I’ve been in class with people who forgot how to read an analog clock (the ones with faces). So maybe brush up on it because analog clocks still exist and are in most classrooms, to my experience. 

5) Using the microwave.

Water goes in with the macaroni when you cook it. 

Same thing with ramen. 

Don’t microwave week old, left out, dry doughnuts. Throw them out. 

Fish is a big no-no in dorms unless you know how to contain and get rid of the smell really fast (but stay on the safe side and just don’t). 

Metal is not a friend of the microwave.

If your food splatters, clean it up.

6) Shop for and cook staple items. 

We had our own kitchen but if you’re not so lucky this could be for down the road when you move into an apartment. 

Basic sandwiches. 

Roasted veggies.

Brownies/ Cake/ Cookies

Whatever meat you eat if you do

Spaghetti 

Garlic bread

Eggs 

Pancakes, if from box learn what the ratio/water consistency is so you don’t have to stick to the measurements on the box. 

Rice, it’s versatile. 

your favorite food.

Remark: knives go NEXT TO the sink, NOT IN. 

7) Money. (Will update this with better advice once I have some)

This should be higher up on priority if you go to the store more often but I didn’t need to go to the store more than once a month for small amounts of stuff. Keep track of the money you’re making and spending. Nothing wrong with getting the store brand you’ll live. Look at how you spend your money now and evaluate how much of that is going to transfer over to your college lifestyle. 

Edit: 

8) How to email your professors/ advisor/ people above you. 

I ended up having to email someone else’s professor before classes even started. I didn’t know how to ask about what I wanted and I had to have someone else write it up for me. It’s so useful to be able to communicate with your higher-ups because sometimes you don’t have any other way of contacting them time efficiently. You get a feel for how formal or informal you can be with certain people after a few emails sent back and forth but it’s still best to start with a formal introduction for yourself. (I can put up a general template if anyone wants it)

9) It's okay to ask “stupid questions”.

If you’re shaky on something ask, especially if you think it’s a stupid question because if you feel that way it’s probably a “basic’ that you need to know to build on for future material. “Okay, I’m five. Explain it to me again”. I’ve used this a couple of times and it usually gets them to realize that you are not a fellow Ph.D. holder in that field and are not used to the language they are. 

If you have more to share, feel free to add! Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat. 

All the best,

Real basic exam tips because I have taken a few but definitely will expand as exams come and go.

1) Learn when they are, usually in the syllabus so write down somewhere all the major exam dates, times, and locations if they’re different from class time. If you have multiple classes with the typical 4 major exams (3, professor written, and a final) they will usually be around each other so be able to brace yourself. 

2) Study as you go. Yes I get it, “We just learned this, I did the hw I think I got it” may be true but it is way easier to realize what's harder for you the more you work with it. Also the more you work with it the better you understand it, maybe you’ll find something you thought you understood but then after studying find out you got lucky a couple of times on the hw. 

3) Study to understand the material. I usually go to the professor for help with this as its easier to communicate where your understanding stops to another human than with a google search. Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t understand” and ask them to explain it to you again in a different way. 

“Explain it to me like I'm five” and “But why” were my catchphrases. 

Another thing I learned to do is try and explain it back to them for reconfirmation. That way they can get a feel for your understanding and see exactly where it is you’re off track. 

4) Ask what’s on the test. Obviously, not the answers but professors are way more willing to help you than you might realize. Go to office hours and ask questions to get you a general feel of the exam. If there’s something you're really not good at, ask your prof if they think it would be worth stressing over for the exam. (I asked my professor so many questions and they would usually steer me in the right direction for the type of problem and hint if it wasn’t big on the test)

5) Come prepared, you’re usually told what to/what not to bring so make sure you have those and extra. Pencils/ pens/a good eraser (took written programming final with just the eraser on the pencil end and ended up running out of eraser towards the end). 

6) “Don’t have an existential crisis while taking the test”- My calc 1 Prof. 

7) Look at the test.

Some people say read through the whole thing first, that’s never really worked for me but to each their own. I usually start the test and if there’s a question I don’t immediately know how to at least start, I skip it, come back to it. At least I saw the question and I find that after going through my “easier” questions and come back, I’m more in the test-taking mindset. 

8) Know when to stop. That’s for studying and the actual test. By all means, do your best at studying and on the test, you should definitely be marking and coming back to the problems you don’t know. However, there is no sense in wasting the last 10 minutes of an exam on one question you don’t know how to start. Review the answers you do have, double/triple check if you can. Dumb mistakes cost you points. Study-wise there’s no use in trying to learn that stubborn maths problem 5 minutes before the test, use that time to review what you do know. 

Will edit as I think of more/ realize I was horribly wrong. 

If you have more to share, feel free to add! Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat.

All the best,

So throughout my first year of university, I have seen and used a lot of different not taking styles, I’m sure there are more but these are the ones I’ve seen or done most. Maybe try some out and see what works best for you.

Pen & notebook: This is the most traditional way to take notes. Depending on the lecture, makes you take shorthand to get everything necessary on the page and is best for when you have to draw graphs or when things have to be written off to the side for personal comments. Also helpful to keep topics sequential to when they’re taught and in one place. I use this method mostly for maths and physics where graphs or equations appear frequently. 

Laptop: I’ve seen this common in lectures with slides. It’s easier for most to type faster than it is to write, Everything is digital and more easily searchable (ctrl+ f will become your best friend). I’ve used this method for classes that are more memory-based than numbers-based. It’s also easier to fact check or find more info on something you’re unsure of in real-time. If you have a tablet or 2-in-1 laptop this could also be used for what pen and notebook does, but I don’t recommend it (for me it’s too much fumbling).

Pre-notes and fill in: I did this for classes that had slides posted prior. Easier to see the bigger picture of where the lecture is going for that day. You have more time before class to look up what things mean in more depth for more understanding. I would write the major headlines for topics covered and follow along in lecture to add or emphasize anything I missed or anything the professor is really hammering in. 

Full pre-notes: I never did this, I like to feel like note-taking is part of active listening during a lecture but you do you. The best part of this is style is that you can devote your full attention to the professor while the lecture is going on. The bad news is that if you don’t have anything to do it may be easier to doze off. 

Loose-leaf: I only used this for classes that didn’t take notes often as to save some paper. Also used it for when I sat in on a class I was already taking and see if they had anything extra to add (had a calc2 lec, sat in on another calc2 with a different prof for extra help). I’ve also seen this used like the pen & notebook method but kept in a binder. Best for keeping similar topics together and when you need to go back and insert additional notes.

Loose-leaf then re-write: I did this when my calc professor talked a lot faster than I was able to write. Re-wrote the notes into a notebook while what was said was still fresh in my mind and with better penmanship this time around. You get the study time while it's still fresh in your mind and you can be sure you can actually read your notes.

Record: I’ve never done this and never seen anyone do this irl, only the ones online. You would have to ask, obviously, but it really depends on who your professor is if you’ll be able to. Benefits of this being you have the exact words of your professor that you can re-watch/re-listen to which is really good if you need to go back as a refresher. The bad news is that there’s no reason to take notes so you’re just listening to the prof, again easy to doze off. 

None: I haven’t done this either, again notes and active listening. But I wouldn’t recommend this. Sure your undivided attention is on the professor but unless you have an eidetic memory you’re not likely to remember what's covered. In addition, since you don’t have notes there’s nothing to go back to and refresh your memory.

If you have more to share feel free to add! Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat.

All the best,

I suck at writing, that’s why I’m an engineer. I had to take a basic analytical writing course my first semester and I hated it. Praised the grass when I learned wouldn’t have to take intensive writing like most degrees (don’t jinx it idiot). This is going to be things I have picked up but this is more for people to build on and give advice to those of us not so gifted with words. 

1) Start early. 

The earlier you start the earlier you can get the momentum going. Nothing sucks more than being up at midnight writing an essay and only having time to turn in the first draft. You know its bad, your teacher knows you procrastinated the hell out of it and it’s just not helpful for anyone. 

2) Just write. I know, I suck at writing so I don’t like doing it. However, something is better than nothing. Write something so you have something to revise, stop caring about how good it is, just write. My method is to write down all I know, how I would say it, sarcasm and informalities included. This way I can see the information I have, which sections are weak, which need to be revised (usually all of it), did I accidentally make a good point somewhere? 

 3) Find your stong and weak points. 

The professor writes on your papers, usually. Use those to your advantage, no point in them wasting the ink if you aren’t going to read it. Find what you need to improve on most and spend some time focusing on just that. My strength was the actual analyzation of the piece with my weak point being grammar and dumb spelling mistakes (as if you couldn’t tell). So I would write up the analyzation best I could, take a break or whatever, come back and focus solely on grammar. Went to office hours for help revising, definitely helped with noticing small mistakes I’d easily glossed over from already knowing my own work. 

4) Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

I get it, we don’t like being judged but guess what? It’s a part of life. We don’t like others, especially ones we interact with on the daily, to see what we suck at. But this is college, asking for help is part of it. If you were perfect you wouldn’t be any reason to grow and improve. Yeah, you may get better on your own but asking for help is part of life and nothing to be embarrassed about. 

Please add more, if you can because this advice is less than basic. Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat.

All the best, 

Having survived my first year in student housing I thought I would share some of my experiences living on campus.

1) Contact your roommate. 

I contacted my roommate as soon as I found out who she was and let me tell you; one less thing you have to worry about coming into college. It’s also really important for coordinating whos bringing what so you don’t end up with two mini-fridges, TVs, or any other big-ticket items. 

2) Leave your door open. 

Its a green light for others that they can stop in and introduce themselves. The #1 reason people went under the radar was that they never opened their door. 

3) That being said, don’t be afraid to go around to other peoples’ door. 

Not everyone wants to go around introducing themselves so why not you do it? And if you’re on the shyer side try finding someone else to go around with you. 

4) Get to know your RA. 

While they’re not there to be your parent there will be situations in which they need to get involved. Don’t be afraid to say hi and have the occasional conversation with them. Mine was a third-year same major and she would always check in when she found out we were doing one of the harder projects. 

5) Floor drama. 

Assuming you know the people on your floor well enough to have drama. Almost everyone on our floor knew each other and face it not everyone is going to like everyone. Remember, you’re adults now, handle it like you are and expect that others won’t. 

6) Start thinking about next years housing soon-ish [like a couple months into it]. I know it’s next year but housing fills up fast. Get a general idea of who you want to live with [even if it’s just yourself], apartment or dorm, and if you are living with someone where are places that can accommodate both of you? 

7) COMMUNICATION IS KEY. 

So much of our floor drama couldn’ve been solved through basic communication and not being petty.

Feel free to add more! Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat.

All the best,

Hello there!

So you’ve probably heard from so many adults that in college it's inevitable that your grades will drop. You can drop that whole perfect student with amazing grades persona right now because you are in college now. You’re now a C student. I’m here to tell you that I have no idea how this will go for you but I can tell you about my experience and help you shift your focus. 

Things to realize: 

1) You’re not in high school anymore. 

You’ve probably come to this realization already but realize that they are going to be different experiences. What worked for you in high school might not work in grade school be okay with that.

2) You get what you put in. 

I’ve found that college is generally where input equals output. Of course, there are some exceptions, some people have taken the course before/ have prior knowledge, some classes are easier than others, some classes could fill a pool with all the student’s tears it’s caused. However, the best way to go into it is the mindset that Input=Output, especially the courses where practice is key like maths and programming classes. 

3) Focus on understanding/ making sense of the material.

I can not tell you how amazing it is when something clicks in your mind it’s like magic. From first semester to second semester my goals went from a matter of accepting that “this is how something is done” to understanding “This is why something is done”. “Why” is your best friend. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t understand why. I once sat through an hour and a half block of office hours with my professor trying to understand a problem that I thought could do correctly but didn’t understand why it worked, turns out the first few were special cases.

Being able to do a problem is good, being able to understand a problem is better. 

4) If you have to retake a class, do it. 

I know no one wants to retake a class but listen here if its a class that has been made clear to you that the material will be needed in the future, take it again. If its a lecture, ask to sit in if there's space. Heavily review and practice over break if you have one. Retake the class formally if you really want to see your progress. Nothing is worse than barely passing a class and coming out with nothing. My C programming professor once told us that someone took his class three times because the first two just didn’t click for him. 

5) Don’t have a crisis about it. 

Not going to say not to worry because there’s always something to worry about. However, I’ve known a couple of people that excelled in a certain subject in high school, they got to university, got their first F in the subject, and seriously contemplated dropping out completely. Maybe don’t do this. 

F’s happen. Figure out what went wrong, again the professor is a person I’m sure would love to help you out and work on it. 

remark: This is more for your tougher classes, obviously you wouldn’t need to contemplate underwater basket weaving or whatever.

If you have more to share, feel free to add! Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat. 

All the best, 

Let me tell you a thing when I first started I sucked at taking notes. Now I'm just good enough for them to be useful. I’ve had a variety of classes in which notes needed to be taken differently so I’m going to tell you my ways of note-taking and hopefully you’ll get better than me and come back to tell us what works. 

1) Realize if you actually need to take notes for this class. 

Some classes are better than others for taking notes. Think to yourself “Do I need a notebook, a scrap piece of paper, or my laptop” I use notebooks for most everything but it depends on the class. 

Notebooks are best for maths and science. Usually makes it easier to write equations and you know you’ll be taking a lot of notes so best to keep them together. 

Loose-leaf/scrap paper is best for when notes are provided but you want to make your own supplemental notes without worrying about space. Also good if you find you don’t take a lot of notes but you draw some graphs here and there.

A laptop is good if you can type faster than you can write and/or the prof is just reading off a slide. (I’ve had this happen). A notebook can also work if you prefer making extra side notes of what the prof said off to the side and you can take shorthand. 

2) Prepare.

This usually means reading the book or taking pre-notes. Pre-notes work best if the class is mostly memorization. Go through the section or if you’re lucky, the slides posted in advance. Write down the major points and when the lecture starts you can just listen/ make side notes. 

3) Actively take notes. 

Be mindful of what you’re writing down. Is all of it necessary or is some of it fluff that will get in the way later? I’ve fallen into the bad habit of trying to write everything on the slides down and I’ve never found it useful.

4) Tips.

Make sure you can read them, you’re the only one who will be using them so you need to be able to read them. 

Pay attention to the professor while they’re talking. If you're taking notes and you notice the prof is just hammering home one part of the information mark it/ highlight it/circle it. It’s going to be on a test, or they just really like that topic which could also mean test. 

Really pay attention when they say X is difficult when explaining it. They’ve taught classes before and they recognize when a topic comes along that everyone just crashes. Maybe it's even something they remember having a hard time with. don’t be afraid to ask in class to repeat.

If you find that you consistently have a lot of questions make a note of what confuses you in your notes and ask about it after class or in office hours.

Date and make headings with section numbers. This will make finding info later so much easier. 

5) Actually, use them.

Taking notes doesn’t absorb the info to your brain via arm. You have to use them. If you don’t that's like building a house then setting up a tent 20 meters away. You have just eternalized (kind of) the wisdom of your professor (or book, whatever) review it regularly. When you take notes, do the hw, then leave it, it might look familiar when you go to study but now you have to take the extra time and effort to remember the important info and how to use it. Remember, you can take the best, most organized, most beautiful notes to exist, but it still won’t help if you don’t know how to read them.

If you have more to share, feel free to add! Happy to clarify anything in the post or just have a chat.

All the best,